Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta refused to give anything away about his club’s reported pursuit of Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior but said he expects more moves before the end of the summer transfer window.
ESPN has reported that Arsenal are interested in the Brazilian star and have been studying the feasibility of a deal.
Asked by a reporter in a light-hearted exchange on Saturday when Vinícius would be joining the Premier League champions, Arteta simply laughed before walking off.
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Vinícius’ contract with the Spanish giants is due to expire next summer and ESPN reported on Friday that Real Madrid are open to the possibility of the 26-year-old leaving the club if there’s no agreement on a new contract, with Madrid having no plans to increase their last renewal offer.
Arsenal believe they would be in a strong position if Vinícius were to opt for a move, a source told ESPN, although a source close to the player said that there had been no contact with the Premier League champions.
Arteta did give more details on the club’s transfer dealings when he was asked in an earlier exchange about Vinícius and whether fans can expect more signings before the start of the new season.
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“Well, we are really active, trying to improve and evolve the team. That’s clear,” he said following Arsenal’s 4-1 over Girona in a preseason friendly in Spain. “We expect to have movements in the next few weeks, obviously, because we want to get better like anybody else.
“And you can just see the transfer market and our opponents. What we are doing, we won’t sit still and we are very ambitious in what we want to do.”
Arsenal’s major arrival so far this summer has been Christos Tzolis, who joined for a fee of £34 million ($45.8m) from Club Brugge. The Greek winger scored his first goal in Arsenal colours on Saturday, netting the team’s second goal in Girona.
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As well as Vinícius, Arsenal have also been strongly linked with another Brazilian in Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimarães.
Information from ESPN’s Rodra, Gustavo Hofman, Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez was used in this report.
